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Editor's Note March 2018 Issue

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Adding to Your Family

Do we always have a choice when we're bringing a new pet into our home?

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When you adopted your cat (or cats), did you have the opportunity to select her based on her age, personality or temperament? Over the years, I did choose a few adult cats from a shelter environment — and had the opportunity to make a choice of, say, a cuddly, interactive cat over a more fearful one.

But then there have also been a number of “mystery” felines who waltzed into my life on any given day, under any number of strange circumstances, and we had to learn to live with one another, warts and all.

I was thinking about my history of kitten/cat adoption with this month’s article “Keys to a Successful Adoption” because Catnip readers probably have also experienced different ways of intentionally (and unintentionally) building their four-legged families.

So if you’re the type of person who lets animals find you, maybe you can share the wisdom in this article with a friend or family who is planning on adopting later in the year. We always hope that any article you don’t find useful can be shared with a pet owner who might.

And I have mixed feelings about the recent research that has stirred up the ancient debate about the intelligence of cats versus dogs. Let’s face it: Both species bring wonderful things to the table, some considered more “dog like” whereas others can be specific to cats.

Behind each stereotype lives a very unique and special animal whom we love. So let’s be accepting of the similarities and the difference that each animal holds, and feel fortunate to have so many of them in their lives!